The Mountain Rimu Timber Company owned and operated a

bush tramway A bush tram and line-side log hauler owned by the Tamaki Sawmill Co., Raurimu. Photographed by Albert Percy Godber circa 1917. In New Zealand railway terminology a bush tramway is an industrial tramway, most commonly used for logging. They are ...

near

Mamaku Mamaku is a small village in the Bay of Plenty Region of the North Island of New Zealand. It lies on the Mamaku Plateau at an elevation of above sea level. Situated at the highest point of the now-mothballed Rotorua Branch railway line, the ...

, south of the

Kaimai Range The Kaimai Range (sometimes referred to as the ''Kaimai Ranges'') is a mountain range in the North Island of New Zealand. It is part of a series of ranges, with the Coromandel Range to the north and the Mamaku Ranges to the south. The Kaimai Ra ...

near

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompass ...

in the

Bay of Plenty Region The Bay of Plenty ( mi, Te Moana-a-Toi) is a region of New Zealand, situated around a bight of the same name in the northern coast of the North Island. The bight stretches 260 km from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaway ...

of the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

of New Zealand. The tramway, with a

track gauge In rail transport, track gauge (in American English, alternatively track gage) is the distance between the two rails of a railway track. All vehicles on a rail network must have wheelsets that are compatible with the track gauge. Since many d ...

of , was used from approximately 1898, to at least 1935.

History

Mountain Rimu Timber Company Limited was incorporated on the 24 January 1898 to purchase the mills of Messrs Kusabs Brothers. It owned 4000 acres of

rimu ''Dacrydium cupressinum'', commonly known as rimu, is a large evergreen coniferous tree endemic to the forests of New Zealand. It is a member of the southern conifer group, the podocarps. The Māori name ''rimu'' comes from the Polynesian ...

bush. The mills and the head office were situated about from the railway station, with which it was connected to by the tramway. The machinery was driven by a twenty-five horsepower stationary steam engine. There were a full sawing and planing plant, capable of turning out of sawn and dressed timber daily. A market for the timber was found throughout the Auckland District, and a good deal was exported to Australia. A large quantity of firewood was cut and shipped to Rotorua. New Zealand Railways (NZR) concluded around 1924-26 that it would be advantageous to supply its own sawn timber, and thus purchased the mill. On 31 August 1934, the sawmill closed down, and its employees were made redundant. The reason was that the timber could be obtained more cheaply elsewhere. The NZR Railway Board had called tenders for timber, and found that it was able to get it at a materially lower price than was being paid for it from its own mill at Mamaku.''Parliamentary Debates, New Zealand Parliament (30 August 1934),''
Vol. 239, 1935, p. 548-549.''Parliamentary Debates, New Zealand Parliament (12 July 1934),''
1934, p. 386. At that time there were of timber left. There was a steel tramline constructed right into the bush, and there were facilities, which no other mill possessed. The plant was close to the railway line on the top of the Mamaku divide, with the easiest hauling conditions. There were two log haulers, two miles of wire rope, two locomotives, one of which has only recently been placed there, and twenty-six cottages from which revenue to the extent of £5oo a year in the shape of rentals was drawn.

Locomotives

A & G Price A & G Price Limited is an engineering firm and locomotive manufacturer in Thames, New Zealand founded in 1868. History A & G Price was established in 1868 in Princes Street, Onehunga by Alfred Price and George Price, two brothers from Stroud, ...

16-wheeler, built 1913, 0-4-4-4-4-0, 1913-1916 Mountain Rimu Timber Co., Mamaku * A & G Price Type D 16-wheeler, built 1910, 1910-1916 Mountain Rimu Timber Co. Mamaku''The Locomotive Owners: A & G Price Ltd., Thames.''
/ref> Three timber workers standing on a log in native bush on the Mountain Rimu Timber Company's property at Mamaku. ATLIB 287494.png, Timber workers on a log on the Mountain Rimu Timber Company's property View of railway track in native bush on the Mountain Rimu Timber Company's property at Mamaku. ATLIB 287486.png, Railway track in native bush on the Mountain Rimu Timber Company's property Price 16-wheeler steam locomotive ATLIB 335605.png, Price 16-wheeler steam locomotive View of timber milling township of Mamaku, looking towards the Mountain Rimu Timber Company mill. ATLIB 287485.png, Timber milling township of Mamaku, looking towards the Mountain Rimu Timber Co. mill Bush locomotive at Mamaku ATLIB 335747.png, ''Johnston Loco'', Price 16-wheeler steam locomotive with a load of logs

References

{{coord, -38.095278, 176.078611, region:NZ_type:landmark, display=title 3 ft 6 in gauge railways in New Zealand Logging railways in New Zealand Bay of Plenty Region Rail transport in the Bay of Plenty Region